Rotary toothbrush



April 21, 1925.

C. S. PATTERSON ROTARY TOOTHBRUSH Filed April 1923 7 5/ J5 -muml INVENTOR. aka files 51 4772525012.

A TTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 21, 192 5.

UNITED STATES CHARLES S. PATTERSON, OF LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA.

Ronny 'roornnansn.

Application am April 2?, 1923. Serial Io. 684,991.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. PATTERF' sort, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lancaster, county of Los Angeles, State 6 of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rotary Toothbrushes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a power driven rotary tooth brush, and it is the object of the in-' vention to provide an instrument which may be conveniently held in the hand, and which is provided with a' suit-able drive mechanism adapted to be detachably connected to a rotatable brush having a-guard for the same, the opposite end of the drive mechanism'being adapted to be detachably connected-to a usual flexible cable leading froman electric motor or the like. I

It is a further object of the invention to provide means for readily reversing the direction of the rotation of: the drive mechanism, without necessitating reverse rotation of the driving cable, and to provide a construction permitting of the interchangeable use of a plurality of brushes.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide an instrumenthaving a straight handle provided with an angularly offset end adapted to support the brush with its axis in longitudinal alinement beyond the same, so that the device may be conveniently held in position with the side of the brush against theteeth, the guard for said brush being adapted to be mounted upon the handle at diametrically opposite points so as to overlie one side or the otherof said brush.-

The invention will be readily understood from the following description of the accompanying drawings, in which:'

Fig. 15' is a top view ofthe instrument.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

(Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fi 1 Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fi 1. l

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are transverse sections on the lines 5 5, 66, and 77 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the. rotatable brush showing the guard for the same in vertical section.

Fig. 11 is a vertical section through the connecting member adapted toengage the rotatable brush.

. Fig. 12 is an endelevation of the same.

The handle of the improved brush comprises a straight casing 1, preferably havng a hinged side 2 forming a door which is adapted to be held in closed position by a catch 3.

An angular extension is formed at the front end of the handle, and preferably comprises a straight casing 4 having one end recelved'in the end of casing 1, and its other end terminating in an angular offset 4: proyecti'ng beyond casing 1. The casing 4-4 1s preferably square in cross-section and has a cylindrical bore extending through the same.

Transverse partitions 5 are provided in casing 1, anda shaft 6 is journaled in said partitions, saidshaft being provided with collars 7 adjustably fixed thereon by set screws 8, and adapted to abut against the facing sidesof said partitions, for adjustably fixing the shaft longitudinally of the handle casing.

A )inion 9 is fixed upon one of the collars 7 an is adapted to mesh with a pinion 10 upon a shaft 11 which is journaled in partitions 5 parallel to shaft 6. Suitable openings are provided in the end wall of casing 1 in alinement with the ends ofshafts 6-11,

and said shaft ends are squared as shown at 12, so as to be selectively engaged by the slotted spring 'end 13 of a flexible cable 14 which is rotated by a usual'electric motor or the like (not shown).

An axially yieldable, flexible, rotary driving connection is provided in the bore of casing H, and is shown as a coiled spring 15, the inner end of which is secured to a. connecting member 16 having a squared socket adapted to receive the end of shaft 6 which is correspondingly squared, and the outer end of sprin 15 is secured to a connecting member 14, rotatably mounted in the end of the bore of'casing 4, and having a socket 19 which is preferably conical and corrugated.

A-guard for the rotatable brush ofthe Fig. 9. is a transi erse section on the line instrument is mounted on the end of easing 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is an end elevation of the guard for the brush, partly brokenaway.

4', and comprises an arcuate plate 20 the length of the brush, and end walls'21', the

front end wall forming a bearing socket 22,

and the rear end wall supporting a squared collar 23 adapted to be received over the end of easing 4.

The rotatable brush comprises a center rod 24 supporting'bristles 25 forming a cylindrical brushing surface, and the front end of rod 24 is removably journaled in bearing 22, with the rear end of said rod adapted to be slipped through collar 23 and into the end of easing 4', with said rod end forming a conical, corrugated bearing pin 26 adapted to be received in socket 19.

Projections 27 are provided at opposite sides'of collar 23, either one of which is adapted to be engaged by a spring catch 28' upon casing 4:, so thatby turning the brush guard until one or the other of said projections are in alinement with the spring catch, and then slipping collar 23 onto the end of casing 1, the spring catch will engage the alined projection to lock the guard in place, and the guard will be positioned so as to overlie one side or the other of the rotatable brush..

The construction as thus described permits of the interchangeable use of a plurality of brushes in the handle and guard structure, a brush being placed in the instrument by slipping bearing pin 26 through collar 23 and into socket 19, and moving connecting member 17 rearwardly against the tension of spring 15, until the outer end of the center rod of the brush may he slipped into bearing 22. The brush is then released so that the spring 15 may force the same forwardly to hold it in place. To remove the brush, it is forced rearwardly against the action of spring 15, until the center rod 24 disengages bearing 22, so that the rear end of said rod may be slipped out of collar 23.

With the brush in place, it is adapted to be rotated by the driving connection provided between shaft 6 and connecting mem ber 17, said shaft being rotated in either direction as desired, by connecting the drive cable 14 to either shaft 6 or to reversing shaft 11.

I claim:

1. A rotary tooth brush comprising rotary drive mechanism, a driving connection operatably connected to said drive mechanism, an axially yieldable spring-forming a rotary operating connection between said drive mechanism and said driving connection and tending to move said driving connection axially away from said drive mechanism, a bearing fixed relative to said drive mechanism axially beyond said driving connection, and a rotatable brush adapted to be journaled in said. hearing at one end and having means adapted to detachably engage said driving connection at its other end.

2. A rotary tooth brush comprising a handle, rotary drive mechanisrfi' journaled in said handle, a driving connection journa-led in said handle axially beyond said drive mechanism, an axially yieldable spring forming a rotary operating connection between said drive mechanism and said driving connection and tending to move said driving connection axially away from said drive mechanism, a guard mounted on said handle and forming a bearing axially beyond said driving connection, and a rotatable brush adapted to be journaled at one end in said bearing and having means at its opposite end adapted to detachably engage said driving connection.

3. A rotary tooth brush comprising a handle having an angularly ofi'set end, drive mechanism journaled in the main portion of said handle, a driving connection journaled in said offset end, a yieldable flexible operating connection between said drive mechanism and said driving connection,

tending to move said driving connection axially away from said drive mechanism, a bearing fixed relative to said handle and said drive mechanism axially beyond said driving connection, and a rotatable brush adapted to be journaled in said hearing at one end and having means adapted to detachably engage said driving connection at its, other end.

4. A rotary tooth brush comprising a closed casing forming a handle, a drive shaft journaled in said handle, a brush journaled at the front end of said handle and operatively engaged by said drive shaft for rotating said brush, a reversing shaft journaled in said handle parallel to said drive shaft, and meshing pinions on said shafts, the rear end of said closed handle casing having'openings in alinement with the respective shafts adapted to selectively receive rotary operating mechanism, and the rear ends of said shafts having connections adapted to be operatively engaged by said rotary operating mechanism.

' In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES S. PATTERSON. 

